Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET) Stock Jumps 1.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Energy Transfer shares rose 1.8% to $20.455 in Friday trading, with volume slightly below average.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with the stock carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $24.36.
• The company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, raising EPS guidance momentum, and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.34, implying a 6.6% annualized yield.

Energy Transfer LP (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) rose 1.8% on Friday. The stock traded as high as $20.50 and last traded at $20.4550. 11,103,195 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average session volume of 12,554,795 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ET shares. Zacks Research lowered Energy Transfer from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $21.00) on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Energy Transfer in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Energy Transfer in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Energy Transfer from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $24.36.

Energy Transfer Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $70.43 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.60.

Energy Transfer (NYSE:ET - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The pipeline company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $34.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.71 billion. Energy Transfer had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 4.87%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 78.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Energy Transfer LP will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Energy Transfer Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 7th were given a $0.34 dividend. This is a positive change from Energy Transfer's previous quarterly dividend of $0.3375. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 7th. Energy Transfer's payout ratio is presently 92.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James Perry purchased 12,359 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.23 per share, with a total value of $250,022.57. Following the acquisition, the director owned 208,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,208,770.58. This trade represents a 6.32% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelcy L. Warren acquired 647,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.26 per share, for a total transaction of $13,775,799.68. Following the purchase, the director owned 147,901,879 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,144,393,947.54. The trade was a 0.44% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have bought a total of 1,012,359 shares of company stock valued at $21,513,543 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.28% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Energy Transfer

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osbon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Energy Transfer during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter worth $35,000. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors bought a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Energy Transfer in the second quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors own 38.22% of the company's stock.

About Energy Transfer

Energy Transfer LP is a diversified energy infrastructure company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The partnership owns and operates a broad network of pipelines, processing facilities, storage assets and terminals that support the movement of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil and refined products across the United States.

The company's operations include gathering and processing natural gas, transporting and storing natural gas and NGLs, fractionating NGLs into component products, and transporting crude oil and refined products.

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